Aviation Nation meetup

a reply to: Zaphod58

I guess I really need to get out there sometime soon.

a reply to: Flipper35

The Weapons School and OT guys have some fun toys too so there's always something interesting flying around. And that's before you throw Draken in. Definitely worth going.

Put in for vacation time today!

They dont put on good airshows in TN like they used to, as a kid they had all sorts of vintage warbirds and static displays with the veterans and enthusiasts hanging around were you could listen to a good first hand story about anything really.

My very first airshow when I was just old enough to not be a toddler, I got up close to an F-117 at Smyrna(91-93?idk) with the pilot because I knew the pitot tubes were not machine guns like everyone else, and asked why 5 when the F-15 seemed to have 1. They had a M1 Abrahms MBT demo where they really FUBAR`d the golf course where that part of the show started from. F-14 knife edge pass with lit afterburners....Childhood memories

Now I`d be thrilled as hell just to see a C-130 up close and BS about what tire PSI the main and nose gear wheels had to have.

Draken...!? The one for sale a few years back is going to be there?

a reply to: StratosFear

Don't know yet. They haven't released a lineup yet.

a reply to: Bigburgh

The A320 was just issued an AD for a "similar but different issue". Airbus says it appears outwardly similar to the A321, but happens under different conditions. They've issued instructions on loading and CG limits. The AD will be released on 14 August and give 30 days to comply.

Nellis is a fantastic show. Lots of demonstrations and usually an aggressor setup including ground vehicles etc.

Tons of static stuff you don't always see like an E-3 etc. Plus you can walk through C-5 etc.

We have been 4 times and its a worthy stop for sure. Plan on a whole day

a reply to: FredT

That just makes me miss the Hanscom airshows of the early 90s when you had everything on the display line from F-4s and F-111s to F-14/15/16/18s and F-117s (well, that one was parked on the taxiway but you could get within 100' of it), A-6/7/10s, E-6s, etc along with everything from C-130s and C-141s to C-17s and C-5s, KC-10s and KC-135s, as well as E-3s and E-8s because it was Hanscom.

Hell, I remember there being an A-3 Skywarrior demo aircraft up until around 1995.

Airshow flightlines seem so lame now.

a reply to: Barnalby

The 80s and 90s shows just seemed like they had so much more going on, except the specialized shows like Nellis

a reply to: Zaphod58

Multirole aircraft were a mistake. The thing that most stood out to elementary school-aged me was how much louder the F-4 and the F-14 were than just about everything else this side of the F-111s.

As a precocious kid raised on 80s Cold War-era military books, avnerd guides, and more than a few coffee table books, the Hanscom show was jus about heaven as far as I was concerned. I can only imagine what Nellis or Oshkosh were like back then, when you had SR-71 demos and stuff like that

a reply to: Barnalby

I get the point of multirole, and I actually agree with it, but they've gone stupid with it. Having an Air Wing of one type of plane can bite you hard in the ass. And, I'm sorry, the Hornet isn't a good choice for the entire Air Wing. They need something like the F-14 to do long range stuff, with the Hornet to backstop it and do its thing. I used to love seeing all the different types on deck. Now it's just boring as hell.

Personally, I think the Air Force should have stayed with the Expeditionary concept. They still do them on deployment, but at one point, they had bombers, fighters, and tankers all at one base, under one flag. Mountain Home had B-52s, F-15Es, F-15C/Ds, and KC-135s all based there under the concept. It was a good idea, which is why it went away pretty quickly.

a reply to: Zaphod58

The F-18 family was great for beating up 3rd world countries but was always utterly out-classed by any real air-superiority fighter that it might come across. That was OK in the 90s when Russia was nothing but the wheezing carcass of the USSR and the PLAF was flying mig-21 copies, but today, the proliferation of competent Russian and Chinese 4th gen fighters makes the lack of a proper F-14 follow on unconscionable. Especially given that the Rhino is basically a carrier-capable Panavia Tornado in terms of role and A2A performance, while the F-35 is just a stealth Rhino. Again, it made sense when the only air forces that we were fighting were Serbia/Iraq/Afghanistan/etc, but Congress and the Pentagon were naive to think that things would stay that way forever.

And that's completely ignoring the fact that China has by all indications just built a and fielded a stealth F-14 that is likely carrier-capable, too.

a reply to: Barnalby

The F-18 is one of those "On paper" designs. I've actually had arguments with engineers that on paper it's a great aircraft. And since we all know pilots lie all the time, it's a great aircraft. Even the Rhino doesn't have the legs it needs. I'm hoping that the Navy will go through with the CFTs on the Block III, although knowing them, they'll add the CFTs and stop carrying the underwing/centerline tanks.

a reply to: Zaphod58

The Tornado was a great aircraft on paper as well...

And of course pilots are going to love flying something faster/more fun than the trainers on Uncle Sam's dime. What I'd love to see is what the guys who grew up on the F-18 and now fly Su-27s, etc under whatever replaced Constant Peg have to say off the record about the F-18 family in comparison.

a reply to: Barnalby

Pretty much every Hornet pilot I ever talked to bitched about their legs. They said they were fun to fly, but depending on the mission, they barely had the legs to get off the carrier, let alone go out and play and have fun for any length of time.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Twin engines were a mistake, at least on something that small.

That's one way to cancel your appearance.

originally posted by: Zaphod58

That's one way to cancel your appearance.

DOH! If you don't want to come just get mom to write a note lol.

a reply to: FredT

Right? I can think of much cheaper ways to get out of it.

Got some amazing pictures today. Looking forward to tomorrow.

a reply to: Zaphod58

So jealous